Fla. prosecutor: Lawyer 'gamed' legal system

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida's statewide prosecutor told a jury that a Jacksonville attorney "gamed" the legal system in creating a network of gambling centers throughout Florida under the guide of a charitable veterans' group. The defense says he was just giving legal advice.

Statewide prosecutor Nicholas Cox said during opening statements in Orlando Thursday that Kelly Mathis built up the network of casinos by claiming they were businesses where customers could buy Internet time when in reality most customers played slot machine games on computers and didn't use the Internet.

Cox says Mathis "gamed the legal system."

Mathis is pleading not guilty to more than 150 charges, including possession of slot machines, keeping gambling houses and other charges.

Defense attorney Mitchell Stone says everything Mathis and other lawyers did was "consistent with legal work."